Helping others heal: The community impact of Lisa Stacey

Lisa Stacey has spent much of her life helping others heal.

Whether through yoga, meditation, Reiki, community work or simply the energy she brings into a room, the lifelong Stratford resident has quietly become one of the city’s most recognizable sources of support, connection and joy.

Now, as Stacey celebrates her 50th birthday, the people closest to her say her impact on Stratford reaches far beyond the yoga mat.

“She makes this town better,” said Joanie Chapple, owner of Formerly The Glass Shoppe and Stacey’s longtime friend. “She’s not a spotlight. She’s a light that fills the room. She gives people the opportunity to be their best self.”

Born and raised in Stratford, Stacey attended Stratford Central Secondary School before studying film and finance at the University of Waterloo. At first, she imagined a future in film, but life quickly took an unexpected turn.

While looking for work in Toronto, she was scouted for modelling, eventually working in both Toronto and London, England.

“My life kind of turned,” Stacey said. “Not in the direction that I thought it was going.”

Years later, after moving to the country near Brighton, Ont. with her husband, Stacey began focusing more deeply on wellness. Yoga, which she had first started practicing at 17 after a volleyball back injury, became something much larger than physical recovery.

“It was making my mindset better and feeling physically, mentally better,” she said.

That path eventually led her into yoga instruction, Reiki training and work at an ayurvedic wellness retreat, where she supported people living with chronic illness, including cancer patients.

When Stacey and her family returned to Stratford in 2009, local connections led her to begin teaching yoga at WellSpring Stratford. About 15 years later, she now manages the centre while continuing to teach yoga and meditation classes both in person and online.

Through WellSpring, Stacey helps oversee a wide range of supportive programming for people affected by cancer, including yoga, meditation, Reiki, therapeutic touch, peer support groups and creative workshops.

“I think people don’t really know what WellSpring is,” Stacey said. “They might associate WellSpring with cancer and think of the worst, but it’s actually a very positive and uplifting place.”

Her work extends well beyond WellSpring. Over the years, Stacey has volunteered extensively throughout the community, teaching yoga at schools, supporting local wellness initiatives, partnering with the Local Community Food Centre and helping lead the long-running Yoga Breakfast program.

She also spent years travelling to Nunavut through a youth exchange initiative, teaching yoga and meditation to students in northern communities while helping foster connections between youth in Nunavut and Stratford.

For Mike Odbert, one of Stacey’s longtime friends, her impact was life-changing.

Odbert first met Stacey in a YMCA yoga class while struggling with addiction, chronic pain and what he described as a worn-out body after years working in the steel industry.

“The pain had become greater than my pride,” he said.

Over time, he credits Stacey with helping heal his “body, mind and spirit,” eventually inspiring him to become a yoga instructor himself.

“She is a giving soul,” Odbert said. “A good friend who changes lives for the better in many ways. Compassionate and kind.”

That ability to help people reconnect with themselves is something both friends and students repeatedly describe.

Chapple said Stacey’s influence comes not only from what she teaches, but from how authentically she lives.

“The older she gets, the more colourful she becomes,” Chapple said. “She lightens up this beige world.”

Known for her vibrant fashion, bright makeup and creative spirit, Stacey embraces individuality openly and encourages others to do the same.

“It’s okay to be different,” Stacey said. “Don’t be so concerned with what everybody else thinks. Just be yourself.”

That philosophy shapes how she approaches both wellness and life itself.

“A lot of people think success is money,” Stacey said. “But I think success is health, family and friends.”

Still, the work has not always been easy. One of the most difficult parts of supporting people through cancer journeys, she said, is forming close relationships with members and then losing some of them.

“You have to set up boundaries,” Stacey said. “But when it’s a human connection, sometimes you can’t help having that close connection with somebody.”

Even so, she continues to show up with openness and compassion – something Chapple said defines who Stacey is at her core.

“She keeps her heart open when it’s really hard,” Chapple said.

Outside of work, Stacey finds joy in music, fashion, nature and family life. She DJs local events, collaborates creatively with friends and recently developed a passion for birdwatching, often sitting quietly outdoors listening to birdsongs through a bird-identification app.

For Stacey, those moments of presence matter deeply.

“I think life is too short,” she said. “People need to find what brings them joy.”

Asked what legacy she hopes to leave behind, Stacey paused before answering simply:

“When in doubt, instead of turning your back on someone, reach your hand out to somebody.”

After five decades of building community, lifting others up and helping people heal, many in Stratford would say she already has.